Giddy Fastest In Qualifying But Newcomer Sabo Impresses
Ajay was quickest in the very cold first practice session of the morning with a very fast lap in the low 1 minute 42 second bracket before going even quicker in qualifying.
He was immediately put under pressure, however, by series debutant Antal Sabo who went 1 minute 42.07 to briefly go fastest before Giddy stopped the clocks at 1 minute 41.977. The youngster was delighted to be fastest overall and for the Winter class, although Sabo heads the Trophy class heading into the first race later this morning.
"It wasn't ideal swapping over cars but this one is very quick and the team did a great job to get us up to speed quickly from the start of practice. It's always good to get pole position," Giddy said afterwards. It was his first pole position in Toyota 86 racing.
Round one sensation Lee Zeltwanger left his run until late in the qualifying session and recorded a 1 minute 42.266 – a tenth off Sabo – to take the inside slot on the second row of the grid.
Townshend bagged a personal best on his second flying lap with a low 1 minute 42 second lap, but it wasn't enough to shift Giddy, and the impressive Sabo, from the front row.
CareVets Scholarship winner Corban Sprague was next up in fifth ahead of Nathan Grammer, with Matt Day and Toby Elmiger locking out the fourth row of the grid leaving Noel Simpson at the back, though the experienced racer had missed Saturday's two practice runs.
Toyota 86 Trophy Series – Round 2 Taupo Qualifying
Grid Car # Driver name Trophy / Winter Team
1 10 Ajay Giddy Winter Mackenzie Motorsport
2 92 Antal Sabo Trophy RaceLab Academy
3 22 Lee Zeltwanger Trophy Skunkworks Racing
4 73 Harry Townshend Winter Mackenzie Motorsport
5 84 Corban Sprague Trophy iMac Engineering
6 50 Nathan Grammer Trophy Mackenzie Motorsport
7 100 Matt Day Trophy Dayle ITM Racing
8 74 Toby Elmiger Trophy Action Motorsport
9 88 Noel Simpson Trophy Action Motorsport
2025 Toyota 86 Trophy Series
Rd1 9-10 May 2025 Hampton Downs - NZIGP Finale
Rd2 21-22 June 2025 Taupo Int. Motorsport Park - Taupo Winter Series
Rd3 5-6 July 2025 Manfeild – Circuit Chris Amon - Manfeild Winter Series
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